Boat-handling apparatus.



C. E. STEWART.

BOAT HANDLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE s, 1912.

coLunmlA PLANOonAPn co., wASmNGTDN. D. c,

C. E. STEWART.

BOAT HANDLING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNBS, 1912.

Patented July 22, 1913.

2 BHEBTS-BHEBT 2.

WITNESSES:

and around suitable guide pulleys 22, thence upwardly and being connected to a handle or ring 23 which may be located at a convenient position in the life boat 2. lVhen a person desires to release the life boat from the supporting tack e, a pull on the handle or ring 23 draws on the cable or chain 2O and this in turn pulls the slip links 13 along the trip-arm and the load of the boat causes the arm 10 to swing about its adjacent end of the link 9 and slip through the rings 11 of the supporting blocks 12, thereby clearing the life boat from the supporting tackle.

For the purpose of raising or lowering the life boat 2 with a uniform speed and in a positive manner so as to obviate entirely the requirement of several hands operating on the ropes 13, Vthese ropes are connected, as before stated, to respective winding drums 16, each of which is secured upon a common shaft turnable in the bearings 17. Then the shaft 25 is revolved in one direction or the other, it will wind or unwind the ropes 13, as the case may be, uniformly throughout its movement. The shaft 25 may be re.- volved to wind the drums through an appropriate mechanism, here shown as comprising a gear 26 which may be fastened to one of the drums 16. Meshing with the gear 26 is a pinion 27, secured on a spindle 23, which also carries a gear 29 meshing with a pinion 30 which is secured on a jack-shaft 31 on which is secured at each end a crank 32. The cranks 32 may be manually or power driven, as desired, to drive the mechanism and wind the ropes simultaneously and at uniform speed on their respective drums 16 which are connected by the common shaftl 25.

Assuming that it is desired to lower alife boat by the present apparatus, a single operator may control the lowering operation by releasing the drum shaft 25 with the drums 16 from the control of a locking lever 33 which is pivoted or otherwise mounted, as at 34, upon a substantial support and which has an arm 35 engageable with a ratchet or other suitable wheel, as 36, fast to a winding drum. Then the opera-tor actuates the locking lever 33 to carry its arm 35 from restraining engagement with its cooperative locking device, as the ratchet wheel 36, then the drums will be released and the boat lowered by the uniform unwinding of the suspended tackle ropes 13. lf for any reason the operator should become injured or incapacitated, the locking lever 33 will automatically become operative by the reaction of a spring 37, which is effective on the lever 33 to throw it into locking engage'- ment with the winch structure the instant that the pressure of the operators hand is removed from the lever In order to control the speed of the lowering of the boat 2 as its ropes 13 unwind from the drum 16, a suitable brake device may be employed, and this is in the present instance indicated as consisting of a drum 3S which may be secured to the spindle 2S. The drum is embraced by a strap or band 39, one end of which is fast and the other end of which is connected to a handle or lever-arm 40. The lever-arm may be pivoted, as at 41, so that a pull on the lever 40 will bind the strap 39 upon the brake drum 36 and the friction thereof will effectually check the rotation of the drums 16.

It will be seen that one operator can control the drum-locking lever 33 to unlock the drums and the same operator can control the brake lever 40 so that he may govern the speed of the lowering of the life boat 2. By the provision of the automatic locking device 33 should the operator be disabled, the device will automatically become operative to lock the winding drum until another operator could be substituted for the one disabled or incapacitated.

An important feature of the present apparatus is the means whereby the davits 3 and 4 may be positively and simultaneously swung to carry the boat from an inboard position to an outboard position. This control of the davits is accomplished by one man through means of a gear 42 fast on one of the davits, as 3, and which is engaged by a worm 43, secured on a shaft 44 which is mounted in appropriate bearings 45; the shaft 44 being provided with a crank 46. `When the boat is stored inboard and connected to the davits 3 and 4, if it be desired to swing it outboard, an operator manipulating the crank 46 will, through means of the worm 43, turn the davit 3 and this, being connected to its adjacent end of the life boat, will swing its end of the life boat and simultaneously through the connection of the boat shift the other davit 4. As the davit 3 is continued in its swinging movement from an inboard position to an out-- board position by the rotation of the worm 43 and the davit gear 42, and as the davit 3 reaches its outermost position, the davit 4, through means of the connecting boat 2, will be drawn outwardly until the boat 2 assumes a position parallel, substantially, with the vertical side of the ship. lf desired a man may be stationed at the opposite end of the boat 2 from the operator of the crank 46 to watch out for the boat until it is finally properly positioned.

From the foregoing' it will be seen that he present invent-ion consists of a pair of davits connected to and by a life boat; means being provided for positively operating the davits, said means being operable by a. single man. After the operator has swung the davits through the actuation of the davit-controlling device the davits will be locked in their outboard or other positions at all times by means of the worm t3 and the gear 42 which also, as stated, forms the means for swinging` the davits. Having actuated the davits through the wormy gear 42m@ until the boat is positioned outboard, the same operator may then move that one of the winding drums 1G which is provided with the control mechanism including the levers 33 and 40, and by properly actuating the former the drums will be released to lower away the life boat; the speed of the lowering being controlled by the brake 33--39 with its lever 40. As before stated in the emergency of the operator becoming incapacitated for any reason, the life boat will be prevented from falling violently to the water by the automatic action of the lock lever 33 which may be released again as soon as properly operated.

Assuming thatl the life boat 2 has been the last to lower away from the ship and one man remains on board to control the lowering away device, as soon as the boat is in juxtaposition to the surface of the was ter the one man can slide down one Of the suspending ropes 13 and land safely in the life boat, and thereupon the latter can be instantly released from the suspending ropes 13 by a pull on the release handle or ring 23, which will operate to pull the cables Q0, and the sliding or slip link 18 will be drawn from restraining engagement with the swinging arm l() at each end of the life boat and disconnected from the blocks 12.

By the provision of the clips connected innnediately to the boat, in the event that a sea strikes the boat as it approaches the water and lifts it bodily, relieving the boat from the tackle, then the clips will automatically release this from the tackle and the boat will be free. Should a sea strike one end of the boat causing lit to pitch, the seaman in charge may pull the clip-releasing device so that the boat would be released entirely from the supporting tackle.

Having thus described my invention, wha t l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent isd In a boat handling apparatus, davits and their tackle for supporting a boat, a shaft extending from davit to davit, winding drums at the ends of t-he shaft to which the rope of the tackle is attached for simultaneous winding or unwinding, one. of the drums having a gear and a stop Wheel, a windlass having a crank-shaft and gearing operated thereby for turning the gear, a brake drum and a manually operated brake controllingthe operation of the power gear, an automatically operating safety lever engageable with the stop wheel, said windlass having a crankshaft independent of the Winding crankshaft and carrying a worm, and a worin wheel on the adjacent davit whereby the davit may be revolved to swing the boat from one horizontal position to another at the deck.

ln testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES E. STEWART.

Wliti'icsses:

WALTER Rniamns, GENEVIEVE S. DoNnLiN.

'topics of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C. 

